Posted in Whathaveyou on May 3rd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
July, July, July. That’s when Minnesota riffers Wolf Blood head back into the studio to complete work on their second album. The as-yet-untitled offering will follow some four years behind the band’s incredibly well received self-titled debut (review here), which came out through Burning World in Europe and Outer Battery in the US — which is no minor shakes for a group marking their first release. As far as endorsements go, those are two good ones to have.
Before the new album arrives, maybe as a refresher or a lead-in or just because they happened to have them laying around — whatever gets it done — Wolf Blood have released the new two-songer single Tsunami / Home and set it up for streaming now and preorders for the month of May for the upcoming 12″ edition, limited in number and all that good stuff. The art, as you can see below, is pretty right on, and the sound of the two songs is duly huge and a fervent reminder of why I was so looking forward to hearing what this band did next.
Have at it:
Minneapolis band WOLF BLOOD are heading back into the studio this July to finish their long awaited 2nd album. To tide fans over till then they’ll release a limited run 12” single for the haunting track “Tsunami” on colored vinyl. Backed by the crushing brand new song “Home”, this will be strictly limited to 200 copies. Pre-orders start May 1st through Qrates.com and run until May 30th. Stream both songs at wolfblood666.bandcamp.com starting May 1st.
Formed in a dank basement during one of the coldest winters on record in Duluth, Minnesota, guitarist Mike Messina and drummer Jake Paulsrud (Dirty Horse/Dad’s Acid) started writing psycho-sludge experiments that sounded too stoned to be metal, and too baneful to be indie-rock. They recruited renown hard-core guitar sorceress Mindy Johnson (The Keep Aways) and magi-roots bassist Luke to flesh-out the menacing sound, and Wolf Blood came to life.
Wolf Blood is: Mike Messina – guitar Jake Paulsrud – drums/vocals Mindy Johnson – guitar/vocals Luke – bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 30th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Something old and something new from Indonesian heavy psych via Outer Battery Records this December. The label has opened preorders now for Tabiat, the latest LP from Mooner originally released via Bhang Records, and Ghede Chokra’s, a 1970 private press recording by Shark Move. The intention is obviously to connect modern and classic heavy psych from Indonesia’s scene, and I think if you take a listen to the streaming tracks below — “Lancang” by Mooner and “Evil War” by Shark Move — you can hear that it’s progressive elements in both doing the bulk of that work. Also dig that classic fuzz in Shark Move. Cool finds for those who might dig.
The PR wire brings all the info and preorder links. Check it:
Outer Battery confirm double whammy of Indonesian psych; MOONER and SHARK MOVE albums released this December
Outer Battery Records have confirmed details of the upcoming album, Tabiat, by Indonesian psychedelic rock band, MOONER. Alongside this, the label will also release cult classic, Ghede Chokra’s by SHARK MOVE. The two releases go perfectly hand in hand, representing the roots of Indonesian psych and a new-school offering at the same time. Both albums will be released on December 8, 2017.
MOONER – TABIAT
Although they’re relatively unknown outside of their native Indonesia, MOONER are something of a supergroup on home soil. The band feature members of The Slave, The SIGIT, Sigmun, and Sarasvati – all well established acts, commanding huge audiences. These four musicians have carried some of that winsome magic over onto this MOONER release.
Recorded at Red Studio, Bandung, mixed at Rebuilt Studio and then mastered by James Plotkin, Tabiat was originally released in Indonesia earlier this year via Bhang Records. The record is pure heavy psych with strong influences of Indian Raga and Middle Eastern touches thrown into a stoner rock stew. Tabiat is an update to the sounds found in early 70’s Indonesia while staying true to the roots of the original scene.
1) Buruh 2) Fana 3) Takana 1 4) Hei 5) Ingkar 6) Lancang 7) Takana 2 8) Serikat 9) Gelar 10) Seruh 11) Takana 3 12) Ternganga
MOONER is: M. Absar Lebeh (The Slave) – Guitar, Vocal Rekti Yoewono (The S.I.G.I.T) – Bass Pratama Kusuma (Sigmun) – Drums, Vocal Marshella Safira (Sarasvati) – Vocal
Tabiat will be released on ivory coloured vinyl via Outer Battery on December 8. It is available to pre-order HERE.
SHARK MOVE – GHEDE CHOKRA’S
When the Suharto regime seized power in the late 60’s in Indonesia they immediately began to crack down on the alternative culture, with only a brave few willing to rebel, and the leaders of this musical rebellion were SHARK MOVE.
Recording Ghede Chokra’s (translated from the Sanskrit as The Great Session) in 1970, Shark Move unleashed their psych masterpiece on the world on their own tiny label. From these small beginnings the SHARK MOVE legacy grew exponentially, first within the Indonesian scene, and then around the world with the classic Evil War featured on Now Again’s seminal Those Shocking Shaking Days compilation. Recognizing a killer riff when he hears one, hip hop producer, Madlib, lifted the track wholesale for his City single in 2013. With original copies of Ghede Chokra’s now trading hands for obscene money, and even the extremely limited Indonesian repress from a few years ago impossible to find, Outer Battery decided it was time to step in and reissue this monster!
Pressed on blue vinyl with white splatter, and housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve, this special release will finally be more readily available to eager listeners.
1) My Life 2) Butterfly 3) Harga 4) Evil War 5) Bingung 6) Insan 7) Madat
[Click play above to stream Petyr’s Petyr in full. Album is out this Friday, June 9, via Outer Battery Records with preorders up here.]
While the band’s ties to the world of professional skateboarding are largely unignorable — nor do I think they particularly want them to be ignored — it’s even more in the conveying of the tenets of West Coast heavy psych that San Diego’s Petyr make their introductory impression. The self-titled debut from the four-piece shuffles frenetically forth via Outer Battery Records, which also has skating ties and has delivered outings from Arctic, Off!, Soggy and Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket, and aside from the band being led by guitarist/vocalist Riley Hawk — son of skate legend Tony — who features alongside fellow guitarist Holland Redd, bassist Luke Devigny and drummer Nick McDonnell, their sonic affinity ties them to groups like Radio Moscow, Joy, Sacri Monti, Harsh Toke and of course Earthless.
It’s a sound very much centered in San Diego and one to which Petyr bring flourish of early metal and acid boogie alike to go with the heavy psychedelic crux of pieces like the rolling “Three to Five” or the earlier Captain Beyond-style proto-prog of “Stairway to Attic,” which follows eight-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Texas Igloo” and the 24-second strum of “Middle Room” in establishing a varied but ultimately molten and jam-vibing aesthetic that the album continues to build upon as it moves through its unpretentious, LP-ready eight-song/39-minute course. Whatever it might owe to modern skate culture, and however centered around that the record’s narrative might be, Petyr‘s Petyr offers just as much classic heavy infusion in highlight cuts like “Satori III,” the doomier-rolling “Kraft” and the Lucifer’s Friend-esque “Stairway to Attic” that the music stands on its own, as it invariably needs to do.
It’s not long into “Texas Igloo” before magmic, layered swirls of lead guitar take hold, and if Petyr are quick in signaling there’s a journey ahead, they’re clearly eager to get it underway, though it should be noted that it’s Devigny‘s bass that actually introduces the track, as it does the Flower Traveling Band-nodding “Satori III,” and “Old and Creepy” and “Kraft,” which follow. That’s half the tracklist and as one expects for this style, the rhythm section does significant work when it comes to holding together the structure of the songs as the guitars wander the cosmos surrounding. On “Texas Igloo,” vocals arrive amid fervent push coated in watery effects à la Witch, and they’ll play an important role in conveying the hook of “Stairway to Attic” and the creeper spirit of “Kraft,” but it’s in the instrumental thrust that the overarching impression of Petyr‘s Petyr is made, and if the record seems geared toward conveying anything about their personality at all, it’s that they are primarily a live band.
That’s hard to say without ever having seen them on stage, obviously, but particularly in pairing “Texas Igloo” with “Middle Room” at the outset, Petyr seem to be telling their listeners right off the bat that they can and will go just about anywhere they want to, sound-wise, and while I don’t know how much of their lead work is improv — certainly in this form the songs have been structured, so don’t take that to mean they’re just off-the-cuff jamming on the recording — the tracks feel very much carved out of jams and Petyr come across as a band who’ve spent their time developing their chemistry on stage and in a rehearsal space with a mind toward playing out. The energy in pieces like “Stairway to Attic,” the Sabbathian midsection of “Old and Creepy” and the near-seven-minute closing bookend “Vambo/Buffalo Stampede” back that assertion, and one finds that even to the last verse of the finale, Petyr hold firm to this focus.
As a result, their self-titled succeeds in conveying this sort of B-plot narrative that coexists with their pro-skating gnarl: The band are at work developing a powerful live dynamic that even at its earlier stages as it might be here is well able to carry their audience along the rough-edged and sometimes angular path their material takes. Because the Pacific Coast and particularly Southern California have had such a glut the last several years of heavy psych bands — really, one wonders a bit how Outer Battery snapped up Petyr before Tee Pee Records could do so — it’s that much harder for Petyr to stand themselves out from the pack, but it’s important to keep in mind that what they’re delivering here is a launch for their evolution rather than the outcome of it. The start of a process, not the finish.
I won’t endeavor to speculate on where they might go, but as much as “Texas Igloo” signals a journey for the listener, so too is it one for the band, and as they dig into the meat of side B with “Kraft” and “Three to Five,” Petyr seem to find a vibe more of their own, with a tinge of cultistry alongside their Echoplexing churn and a red-hot rhythmic fluidity that, much as they showed at the beginning with the quick gone-elsewhere excursion of “Middle Room,” maintains its refusal to be anywhere it doesn’t want to be. Modern acid rock answering the call of a classic head trip — one could hardly ask more of an interpretation of current West Coast heavy psych than that, and Petyr do well in blending the new and the old in their sound throughout “Satori III,” “Old and Creepy,” “Stairway to Attic” and “Vambo/Buffalo Stampede” in such a way as to position themselves for growth going forward. Their second LP will be a test of who they are as a band and as songwriters, who they want to be and how they want to get there, but as a first offering, Petyr‘s Petyr makes a compelling argument in its shred and its drawl for the potential of the band to distinguish themselves from within their crowded scene.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 12th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Being about as far removed from Southern California as one can be and still reside in the contiguous states, I forget sometimes about just how much skate culture and music intersect out that way, and how natural that is that one would feed off the other. I guess it’s at least partially because I don’t skate and never really have. Yeah, that’s probably part of it. But either way, while The Shrine have waved the “skate rock” banner pretty hard during their tenure, a lot of what’s come out of that scene over the last however many years — from Earthless to Harsh Toke to Sacri Monti to Radio Moscow, etc. — doesn’t really strike me as skate-minded, even though something like half those dudes probably make their living that way.
I say this because the pro-skating link for Petyr, whose self-titled debut is out June 9 on Outer Battery Records and available to preorder now, is about as unavoidable as it gets. You’ll see what I mean as you read through the PR wire info below, but either way, skater or not, make sure you check out the track “Stairway to Attic” at the bottom of the post, what with the streaming the swirl and the boogie and all.
Here’s news:
California Heavy Psych Band PETYR to Release Self-Titled Debut June 9
San Diego Rock Group Featuring Frontman Riley Hawk Readies Loaded Debut
PETYR is a psychedelic hard rock band fronted by guitarist and award-winning pro skater Riley Hawk, son of legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk. The San Diego quartet, hailed for its “sonic heaviness”, will release its debut full-length, Petyr, on June 9 via Outer Battery Records (Chelsea Wolfe, Dinosaur Jr., SLEEP).
Steeped in equal parts hard rock and skateboarding, PETYR draws influence from high-power godfathers such as Japanese psychedelic masters Flower Traveling Band, Black Sabbath (natch) and hometown psych scene kings Earthless. The eight track album was written over the course of countless jam sessions, capturing the spirit of cruising down the California highways and sea salt spattered coastline. The band’s debut contains searing songs, weighty in nature, that were shaped during live sets alongside peers and So-Cal neighbors such as Harsh Toke, Sacri Monti, JOY and The Shrine.
“Our sound is a product of where we grew up,” Hawk comments. “We skate and we jam, and each feeds off the energy of the other.”
Track listing:
1.) Texas Igloo 2.) Middle Room 3.) Stairway to Attic 4.) Satori III 5.) Old and Creepy 6.) Kraft 7.) Three to Five 8.) Vambo / Buffalo Stampede
In addition to Riley Hawk, PETYR features Holland Redd (guitar), Nick McDonnell (drums) and Luke Devigny (bass).
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 7th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
We’re fortunate to live in an age of such prevalent rock and roll archaeology, and if you don’t think so, go dig around the YouTubes and check out French four-piece Soggy‘s cover of The Stooges‘ mega-classic “I Wanna be Your Dog.” As a fan of Euro-accented heavy rock in general, I’ll just spoil it for you and say it fucking rules. I’d never heard the band before getting this news about the impending Outer Battery Records reissue of their self-titled compilation — originally out in 2008, made up of recordings from 1980 and 1981 — but the blend of punk and pre-NWOBHM tonal buzz one finds therein is sure to turn a few heads these 35-plus years later. Turned mine, anyhow.
Apparently The Shrine covered these guys on stage with Soggy frontman Beb sitting in on vocals. We should all be blessed with such good taste.
Reissue is out Dec. 9. From the PR wire:
Outer Battery Records to Release Cult LP from French Heavy Rock Band SOGGY
Outer Battery Records will release the cult, self-titled album by French heavy rock band SOGGY on December 9. The 11-track album was previously pressed by Memoire Neuve Records and limited to just 300 copies, meaning the album is now a sought after purchase by serious record collectors. Check out the album trailer, featuring the band’s 1981 single, “Waiting for the War”, at THIS location.
Formed in 1978, SOGGY started out playing covers of Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, MC5 and The Stooges but quickly began writing their own songs and developed a unique style, mixing hard rock and punk rock in a Stooges vein. They christened their style “hard wave”. In April of ’81 the “Waiting for the War” 7” was released and a video was shot for French TV. After more than 100 concerts, the band split up in July of 1982 (although they were supposed to be the opening act for the Judas Priest European tour), but their cult status has only grown over the years. This release from Outer Battery is the full LP, including tracks from the “Waiting for the War” single.
More recently, SOGGY frontman, Beb, has returned to the stage for the first time in over 35 years! California skate rock band The Shrine recorded a cover of “Waiting For The War” which caught the Frenchman’s attention and the two joined forces on stage in Paris (for the first time) and across stages in Europe, last year.
Track listing: 1.) 47 Chromosomes 2.) Lay Down A Lot 3.) I Feel Top Of The World 4.) Cellulitis is the Top of the Shapeless Body 5.) Down The Shops 6.) I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges) 7.) Waiting For The War 8.) Cursed Boy 9.) Slider 10.) Let’s Go Together 11.) Lost My Brain
In addition to front man Beb, SOGGY features Eric Dars (guitar), François Tailleur (bass) and Olivier Hennegrave (drums).
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 22nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
One of the things that made Wolf Blood‘s 2014 self-titled debut (discussed here) so engaging was its complete unwillingness to settle on a genre or a unipolar sound. I can’t help but wonder if the Duluth, Minnesota, outfit will bring a similar restlessness to their onstage presentation when they head off on an East Coast tour next month. It’s a good round of dates, with a few still to be filled in — I’d say hit up The Depot in York, PA, but they’ve already got two dates in Pennsylvania, one in Philly, one in Pittsburgh — but wherever they wind up for those TBAs, they’ve got a few killer gigs spread throughout, some house shows and a stop in Brooklyn with Geezer, The Golden Grass and Bison Machine, so it should prove worth the road time.
To hear them tell it, they’ve got 30 copies of the debut left and they’ll have them on hand for the tour. Confirmation from the PR wire:
WOLF BLOOD East Coast Tour May 21-June 6th 2015
Duluth’s WOLF BLOOD (soon to be Minneapolis based) are hitting the road next month for 2 1/2 week tour to the East Coast. Starting in Duluth on a train(!) for “Blood on the Tracks” with The Black Eyed Snakes and culminating with a stacked show at Brooklyn’s Lucky 13 with Geezer, The Golden Grass and Bison Machine.
Also with less than 30 copies left this will be the last chance to grab a copy of their S/T debut on Burning World Records before it’s gone.
East Coast Tour Dates May 21 Duluth, MN @ Blood on the Tracks w/ The Black Eyed Snakes & more May 22 Des Moines, IA @ The Fremont w/ Druids & Glass Ox May 23 Kansas City, MO TBA May 24 Cincinnati, OH @ Tacocracy w/ Temple & tba May 25 Chattanooga, TN @ Sluggo’s May 26 Harrisonburg, VA @ House show May 27 TBA May 28 Baltimore, MD @ Side Bar May 29 D.C. @ The Pinch May 30 Brooklyn, NY @ Lucky 13 w/ Geezer, Bison Machine & The Golden Grass May 31 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie w/ Hellrad, Heavy Temple & Toke June 1 TBA June 2 Pittsburgh, PA @ House show June 3 Dekalb, IL @ house show June 4 Milwaukee, WI TBA June 5 Appleton, WI @ Xtra920 w/ Relentless, Attalla… June 6 Duluth, MN @ Luce w/ Gay Witch Abortion & Strange
Posted in audiObelisk on August 27th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
Among the many Main Stage acts on the Roadburn lineup this year, few bands left the kind of impression Richmond, Virginia’s Windhand seemed to leave. After their set, which was on the third day of the fest proper, Saturday, April 12, you could hear their name being talked about for the rest of the evening outside the 013 in Tilburg: “Dude, did you see Windhand?” The five-piece had obviously made an impression with their 2013 Relapse label debut, Soma(review here), and they followed that up with a blistering live set that, come the fall, will be available as an exclusive vinyl release on Burning World Records and Outer Battery Records.
The opener from that set, recorded and mixed by Marcel van de Vondervoort and mastered by James Plotkin, was “Orchard,” but that’s only if you want to be technical about it. Really, the opener for the set was about a solid minute of gut-wrenching feedback from which the initial riff eventually oozed. Soon enough, Windhand are underway with the track’s doomly lurch, but they’re barely there at all before you can hear the audience get into it on the recording. Roadburn may have been a stop for Windhand on a longer tour, one that seems nearly endless with the road-time the band puts in — they’re out again in the States next month (dates below) — but after listening to the captured results, there can be little question it was a landmark both for them and for those who got to see them play.
If you were there, Live at Roadburn 2014is a chance to relive that moment. If you weren’t there, it’s still about as quality a live recording of Windhand as you’re going to get, so I don’t really see how you could lose. The LP is available now to preorder, and you can hear “Orchard” on the player below. Please enjoy:
Windhand will release the vinyl-only Live at Roadburn 2014 late September/October on Burning World Records (EU preorder here) and Outer Battery Records (US preorder here). The pressing is limited to 400 copies in the US. Windhand also head out on tour starting Sept. 4 with All Them Witches. Dates follow:
Windhand tour with All Them Witches: 9/4 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar 9/5 Pittsburgh, PA – 31st St Pub 9/6 Akron, OH – Musica 9/7 Columbus, OH – The Basement 9/9 Iowa City, IA – Gabe’s 9/10 Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge 9/11 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock 9/12 Milwaukee, WI – Metal Grill 9/13 Ferndale, MI – Loving Touch 9/14 Toronto, ON – Coda 9/16 Ottawa, ON – Cafe Dekcuf 9/17 Montreal, QC – Petit Campus 9/18 Cambridge, MA – Middle East (upstairs) 9/19 Providence, RI – AS220 9/20 Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus Bar
Posted in audiObelisk on August 26th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
The bell of the ride counts out a measure and soon enough the guitar starts in on “Witch,” the opening track from Wolf Blood‘s self-titled debut. Right away, something just seems bent. It’s like the sound is contorted somehow. It’s an otherworldly sensation and it continues throughout the Duluth, Minnesota, four-piece’s six-track offering, which follows through with a loosely cultish approach but is more geared toward general darkness and tonal space than trying to win you over to Team Lucifer. Driven by the riffs of guitarists Mike Messina and Mindy Johnson (the latter also vocals), “Witch” is the slowest of Wolf Blood‘s tracks until its complementary 12-minute closer “Procession of the Witch,” and it also provides one of the album’s signature hooks, so while it may not represent the High on Fire thrashy sensibility of “Exile,” Messina, Johnson, bassist Brian Wells and drummer/vocalist Jake Paulsrude are definitely putting their best foot forward, and they’re swinging it hard right at their audience.
Grooves and big riffs abound, but that’s nothing new to the converted, and where Wolf Blood really distinguish themselves is in the oddity of their aggression. Blending clean vocals, spoken parts and screams, they play off both metallic and heavy rock styles and craft something fluid and malevolent from them. There’s a sense of theatricality in side A finale “Dancing on Your Grave,” where much of the album’s second half seems to be more about pummel, but there’s an emerging personality at work across the board, and Wolf Blood emerge after “Procession of the Witch” unscathed by their own strangeness, having tread hard on a couple fine lines between subgenres. Ultimately, Wolf Bloodis as satisfying for its brashness as it is for its density of groove.
The band released it earlier this year on two separate, sold-out tape pressings and the whole record is available to stream on the band’s Bandcamp in that original form, but Burning World Records and Outer Battery Records will have a vinyl out in October remixed and remastered by James Plotkin, and you can hear the new version of “Witch” on the player below. Please enjoy:
Wolf Blood‘s Wolf Blood is out in October through Burning World Records (EU preorder here) and Outer Battery Records (US preorder here). The band will tour beginning on Sept. 25 in support of the vinyl.
Wolf Blood Midwest Fall Tour Dates: 9/25- Duluth, MN @ The Red Star 9/26- Eau Claire, WI @ House of Rock 9/27- Dubuque, IA @ Eronel 9/28- TBA 9/29- Iowa City, IA @ TBA 9/30- Madison, WI @ The Wisco 10/1- Madison, WI @ Dragonfly Lounge 10/2- Milwaukee, WI @ Quarters 10/3- Chicago, IL @ TBA 10/4- St. Louis, MO @ TBA 10/5- Colombia, MO @ TBA 10/6- Kansas City, MO @ Vandals 10/7- Lawrence, KS @ TBA 10/8- Des moine, IA @ Vaudville Mews 10/9- Minneapolis, MN @ House show
